Red Cliffs Desert Reserve

Jun. 30, 2010 11:39 AM

TORTOISE ETIQUETTE

• Stay on designated trails.• Keep dogs on a leash (this protects the dogs from poisonous reptiles as well as protecting animals like tortoises from the dogs).• Enjoy wildlife from a distance. Do not touch tortoises except to remove them from harm’s way. If they are in the road, carefully move them off the side of the road in the same direction they are facing. If there is a low fence designed to keep the tortoises off the road, place them inside the fence. Move carefully and minimally so as not to upset them.• If you find a tortoise outside of the reserve, call reserve officials to collect the tortoise.• Collect litter, especially food litter.• Use motorized vehicles on designated roads only.• Leave what you find (except litter).• Use caution near burrows.• For more, visit www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/faq

IF YOU GO

Directions: The reserve is located on both sides of Interstate 15 in Washington County. It lies generally north of the St. George metropolitan area between Ivins and Hurricane.

Phone number: (435) 634-5759.

Visitors center hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Admission fees: None except within Snow Canyon State Park, where the entrance fee is $6.

You might stumble upon a California kingsnake, which is known to constrict and eat rattlesnakes. Or you might find a Gila monster, one of only two venomous lizards in the world. And, of course, there is the famed Mojave desert tortoise, which is the largest reptile in the Mojave Desert and can live up to 80 years.

The landscape (www.redcliffsdesertreserve.com/trail) is just as diverse, from the towering Red Mountain above Ivins to the twisting Virgin River through the Babylon area near Hurricane. Hikers willing to trudge through the sand of Bone Wash may locate the elusive Elephant Arch, set in a red rock wonderland that practically glows at sunset.

Rock climbers frequent the Chuckwalla area just north of St. George while mountain bikers and horseback riders enjoy the Grapevine and Prospector trails near Exit 16 on the northwest side of Interstate 15.

A visitors center at 10 N. 100 East in downtown St. George offers more information about the reserve and its wildlife.